An existential approach to sport psychology: Theory and applied practice

Abstract

Despite being an established approach in the parent discipline of psychology, existential psychology remains largely absent from sport psychology research and applied practice. The aim of this paper is to address this gap and outline an existential psychological approach for sport psychology. In the first part of the article, we present the philosophical underpinnings of existential psychology and situate it within the dominant approaches in sport psychology. In addition, we explore some of the key concepts of existential psychology including meaning, authenticity, anxiety, loneliness, death and boundary situations. In the second part of the article, we draw from literature on existential therapies and the second author's extensive applied work in professional soccer to outline the basic principles of existential counselling. Finally, we consider future directions for research and applied practice.